The issue of competency of defendants to stand trial is common in various states within the United States of America. This is an issue is more often raised in court proceedings that involve juvenile. Most of the states lack statutory guidance on how competency to stand trial needs to be applied in courts that deal with youths and children ( Kurtz, & Giannelli, 2019) . The fact is that most of the states still use the criminal competence statutes for adults when handling youths in the juvenile courts. In order to avoid confusion, frustration, and uncertainty among the law enforcers and judges, the Ohio state has come up with competency statutes that are used in the juvenile courts.
The hearing to determine the competency of juvenile defendants is explained in Chapter 2152 (Delinquent Children) under Section 2152.58 of the Ohio Legislation. This section is titled “Hearing to determine the competency of juveniles,” ( Kurtz, & Giannelli, 2019) . According to this Ohio State Statute, a standard has been created for juveniles where a court shall hold a hearing to determine the competency of the youth to take part in the proceeding between fifteen to thirty business days after getting an evaluation under division A and E of section 2152.57 the time taken to determine the competency of the youth cannot go beyond thirty working days or less than 15 working days ( Kurtz, & Giannelli, 2019) . This is different from how judges and prosecutors handle cases of adults which can take even more than 30 working days.
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The report of the competency assessment is admitted into evidence by a process known as stipulation at a hearing. The court shall inform and allow the different parties including the juvenile to participate in a case proceeding only after contacting the evaluator so as to get clarification of the content of the report ( National Juvenile Justice Network, 2012) . This implies that the juvenile court will have to consider the content of all competency assessments which have been brought as evidence in order to determine the competency of any youth to participate in the proceeding. In addition to this, there are some situations where the court will consider more additional evidence such as the own observation carried out by the court to get to know the conduct of the youth and demeanor in the courtroom. To add, the court makes a written determination about the competency or incompetency of the youth based on the preponderance of evidence and this has to be done before the end of fifteen working days after completion of the hearing ( National Juvenile Justice Network, 2012) . However, by the use of journal entries, the court can extend the time for making the determination for a period not exceeding fifteen additional days.
Furthermore, the juvenile courts in Ohio shall not find a youth incompetent to proceed solely for reasons such as the youth obtaining or has obtained treatment as a patient with mental issues under the revised code of Chapter 5122 and 5123 ( Kurtz, & Giannelli, 2019) . The chapters further explain that the youth will not be afforded a jury trial. What happens is that there will only be one judge or prosecutor who will find facts at a trial. This is very different from what the adult competency statute in Ohio where the defendants are afforded jury trial. However, in all cases whether youth or adult, they are all considered innocent until proven guilty ( Kurtz, & Giannelli, 2019) . There is also a difference in competency standards regarding the conviction of offenders. In juvenile competency statute, the child is subjected to adjudicated delinquent where the main aim is to help rehabilitate ( National Juvenile Justice Network, 2012) . On the other side, the standard is that the defendants are convicted if they are found guilty.
Lastly, I would advise the local politicians to be more tactical when handling juveniles and that there should be a difference between how youths are handled in courts and how adults are handled. The adult criminal competence statutes should not be used in juvenile courts. This means that local politicians should come up with statutory guidelines for how competence to stand trial should be used in juvenile courts. This will help to avoid confusion, frustration, and uncertainty among prosecutors and judges when handling cases involving youths.
References
National Juvenile Justice Network (2012); Competency to Stand Trial in Juvenile Court, Recommendations for Policymakers. 1319 F St. NW, Suite 402 • Washington, DC 20004 • 202-467-0864. http://www.njjn.org/uploads/digital-library/NJJN_MfC_Juvenile-Competency-to-Stand-Trial_FINAL-Nov2012.pdf
Kurtz, W. A., & Giannelli, P. C. (2019). Ohio juvenile law (p. 66). Banks-Baldwin Law Publishing Company. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/ohio-juvenile-law
